How Careless Decorating Make Your Holidays Less Merry

Injured Over the Holidays?

Beautiful light displays and carefully decorated trees are a festive part of the holiday season. In most cases, these decorations are nothing but fun, but sometimes they can cause injuries or even fatalities. You should make sure that your own decorations are safe and be careful around holiday displays put together by others. Our New Orleans holiday injury lawyer has seen cases where clients have been injured—sometimes catastrophically—due to someone else’s negligence around the holidays.

7 Ways to Avoid Holiday and Fire Hazards Injuries

Watch Out for Dangers to Small Children. A young child may find twinkling lights and sparkly decorations irresistible to touch and put in his or her mouth. To avoid cuts, choking hazards, burns, and other childhood injuries, avoid decorations that have small parts or that look like food or candy. Also, place lights and other delicate decorations out of reach of their curious hands.

Take Care with Ladders. Climbing up on a ladder can be dangerous. Make sure to lock the straps and place it on solid ground. Step in the center of each rung to avoid tipping to the side, and avoid the top three rungs. And when possible, have someone on the ground to hold the ladder and help you in case you fall.

Check Your Lights. Don’t assume that last year’s lights are still in good shape. Look for signs of damage—such as cracked sockets, broken bulbs, frayed or bare wires, and loose connections—on each light before you plug them in or hang them. Also check new packs for damage to help prevent fires.

Use Candles Safely. Battery-operated candles are a good alternative, but if you’d like to use traditional candles, make sure you’re using them safely and do not leave them burning unattended. You also want to avoid putting them on a tree and keep them away from other decorations and wrapping paper. Lastly, place them where they’re secure, won’t fall, and are out of reach from children and pets.

Choose the Right Tree. We cannot put enough emphasis on the importance of how to choose the right tree for your home. If buying an artificial tree, make sure that it’s fire resistant. If you prefer a real tree, make sure that it is fresh and not dry when you buy it. Do so by checking that it’s green and has needles that are hard to pull from branches. Also, bounce the tree against the ground to see if it sheds a shower of falling needles. If so, this is a sign that it’s too dry and can cause a fire hazard.

Maintain Your Tree Properly. When you’re deciding where to put your real or fake tree, make sure to place it well away from sources of heat like fireplaces or radiators, and securely fasten it to keep it from tipping over. Also, to help keep your real tree fresher longer, keep a good supply of water in the stand. As previously mentioned, dry brittle trees are fire hazards which could result in burn injuries and other catastrophic losses. 

Properly Dispose of Wrapping Paper. After opening all presents, remove all wrapping paper on the ground–especially near the tree or fireplace. Dispose of it properly instead of burning it in the fireplace, since a flash fire could result as the paper suddenly ignites.

Getting Help from New Orleans Holiday Injury Lawyer

If you’ve been injured as a result of defective lights, dangerous decorations, or because someone else failed to provide a safe environment, contact a New Orleans holiday injury lawyer at Mike Brandner Law today.

Our office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but you can reach us 24/7 by phone. You can also talk to us via LiveChat if you prefer. We offer free consultations, and you won’t pay a free unless you win your case.